Collapsible stand



Feb. 11, 1947.

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Patented Feb. 11, 1947 ooLLArsinLE s'rANn Walter W. Block, Kenosha, Wis, assignor to Quaker Foundation, 1110., Kcnosha, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Application December 8, 1945, Serial No. 683,822

7 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a collapsible stand, and more particularly to a stand for use as a clothes basket carrier and clothes rack.

In a home laundryit is desirable to provide a means whereby clothes to be hung on the line may be readily transported from the laundry,

and after being dried may be conveyed to the ironing table. A device for this purpose should be collapsible so as to occupy little space for storage. If desired the device may be used with a clothes basket of the conventional woven type of rec'd fiber or other material or may be used with a cloth basket supported over the endsof the carrier. Since the carrier is to serve not only as a support for a clothes basket, but also to serve as a rack it is desirable and customary to construct such device of unfinished wood. Unfinished wood is susceptible to considerable expansion and contraction due to the great change in humidity encountered in the home laundry. As a result it is highly desirable to provide a type of construction which in spite of any expansion, contraction or slight warpage of the wood parts will nevertheless be relatively strong and rigid in expanded position. Accordingly in accordance with the present invention an improved type of construction is employed where a plurality of members on opposite sides of the rack serve to limit the amount of expansion and operate to form a strong rigid supporting area for a clothes basket or the like.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved collapsible stand to serve as a clothes basket carrier and rack which is of simple and light construction and which provides an improved rigid supporting surface or area for a clothes basket.

Other and further objects of the present in vention subsequently will become apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a perspective View of the invention in its open or expanded position for use;

Figure 2 is an end view of the stand in partially collapsed position; and

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view illustrating the improved construction in detail.

The drawing shows a collapsible stand formed of four legs it! of wood which have a generally rectangular cross section. The four legs of wood are arranged in two parallel crossed pairs pivoted at an intermediate point I2 on a cross bar or rod I l. The outer extremities of the bar legs ID are interconnected by a plurality of cross bars l6 and E8. The cross bars l6 adjacent the ends are provided with round surfaces upon which are mounted wheels or rollers 29 so that the carrier and a basket of clothes may readily be rolled about the laundry and to and from the laundry. At an intermediate point between the pivotal connection 12 and the upper extremities of the leg bars ill four similar bars 22 and 24 are pivotally mounted by means of cross bars 25. The pivotally mounted bars are pivotally interconnected at an intermediate point 28 by another cross bar 30. Each of the bars 22 and 26 has one end 32 bevelled so as to engage the inner surface it of the adjacent opposite leg Iii.

The pivotally mounted bars 22 and 24 are preferably members having a rectangular cross section of the same size as the leg member it. These bars are arranged in pairs and are mounted so that the inner bars 24 are mounted adjacent the inner surfaces of the outside leg member IE3; and the other bars 22 are mounted on the outer surfaces of the inner legs it]. Thus as is apparent from Figure 3 opposite sides of the rack have two cross members 22 and 2t positioned adjacent each other and each having end surfaces 32 in engagement with the opposite edge face of the opposite leg of the adjacent pair of legs. The crossed legs It and the cross bed bar members 22 and 24 therefor have pivoted connections 52 and 28 which at all times remain in a common vertical plane whether the device is fully expanded as shown in Figure 1 or collapsed as shown in Figure 2. It becomes apparent that the device when fully collapsed takes up a minimum of space for convenient storage. If desired the rack may be provided with additional cross bars along the upper portions of the cross legs [8 so as to provide additional hanging space when the stand is used as a clothes drying rack.

While for the purpose of illustrating and describing the present invention a preferred embodiment has been shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such variations in the conabove the pivotal rod thereof by a pair of rods,

two of said bars being mounted on the outside face of the inner two legs, the other two of said bars being mounted n the inside face of the outer two legs, a rod pivotally interconnecting said four bars at an intermediate point, said bars each having a bevelled end to contact the inner edge face of the opposite leg of the adjacent pair of legs when said bars are in a horizontal position.

3. A collapsible stand of wood comprising two sets of frame members movable in vertical planes, each set having two long crossed members pivotally interconnected and two short crossed members pivotally interconnected, said latte members each being pivotally connected at one end to one of said first members at a point intermediate the first mentioned pivotal connection and its upper end, each short member being positioned in the same vertical plane as the opposed long member and having an end surface parallel to and abutting one surface of said long member when said stand is in expanded position, transverse rods interconnecting said sets of frame members and said short members, and wooden wheels mounted at the bottom extremities of said long members.

4. A collapsible stand of wood comprising two setsof frame members movable in vertical planes, said frame members each having a rectangular cross section, each set of frame members having two long crossed members pivotally interconnected near the middle and two short crossed members each pivotally connected near the midis, each of said latter members being pivotally connected at one end to one of said first members at a point intermediate the first mentioned pivotal connection and the upper end thereof, each short member being positioned in the same vertical plane as the opposed long member and having an end surface parallel to and abutting one surface of said long member when said stand is in expanded position and said member is horizontal, and transverse rods interconnecting said sets of frame members at the pivotal points and between the ends of said long members.

5. A collapsible stand comprising two sets of pivotally interconnected frame members movable in parallel vertical planes, a plurality of horizontal members interconnecting in spaced relation similar frame members, and a horizontal bed portion comprising two sets of pivotally interconnected members each having one end pivotally connected to one of said first members and having the other end formed at an angle so as to rest on the inclined edge surface of the oppositely positioned adjacent frame member.

6. A collapsible stand having four legs in crossed pairs, a rod pivotally' interconnecting said legs, spaced members interconnecting at least the lower extremities of said legs, four bars pivotally connected to said legs above the pivotal rod thereof, and means pivotally interconnecting said four bars in pairs at intermediate points, said bars each having a bevelled end to contact the inner face of the opposite leg of the adjacent pair of legs.

7. A collapsible stand of wood comprising two sets of frame members movable in vertical planes, each set having two long crossed members pivotally interconnected and two shortcrossed members pivotally interconnected, said latter members each being pivotally connected at one end to one of said first members at a point intermediate the first mentioned pivotal connection and the upper end of said member, each short member being positioned in the same vertical plane as the opposed long member and having an end surface at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the member complementary to and abutting one surface of said long member when said stand is in expanded position, and transverse members interconnecting said sets of long crossed members to retain said two sets of frame members in spaced apart parallel vertical planes.

WALTER W. BLOCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,052,803 Schmoller Dec. 2, 1935 710,799 Magerhans Oct. 7, 1902 288,645 Long Nov. 20, 1883 1,562,161- Guterman Mar. 20, 1925 

